Makin' My Way Any Way That I Can
by ChakiChu
Summary: Chaki Takashi is just your normal teenager…who loves Pokemon! But who doesn’t? Her life is turned upside down when she meets up with Ash Ketchum Satoshi, May Haruka, Max Masato, and Brock Takashi, along with some new friends! Will they survive the journey
1. New Beginings!

**Name:** Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can) _NOTE! This is NOT a songfic. Not yet anyways…I just needed a title and it fit perfectly!_

**Rating: **T for violence, swearing, and because I feel like it.

**Genre:** Humor/Romance/Action/Whatever. It's everything. Really. Except horror.

**Plot Summary:** Chaki Takashi is just your normal teenager…who loves Pokemon! (But who doesn't?) Her life is turned upside down when she meets up with Ash Ketchum (Satoshi), May (Haruka), Max (Masato), and Brock (Takashi), along with some new friends! Will they survive the journey to becoming a Pokemon master, or will their dreams disappear in a puff of smoke?

Hi! And welcome to my Pokemon fic! I'm really happy that I've finally finished this…It has taken forever… sighs Anyways, enjoy!

"Hello, today is Friday, June 5 and you're listening to POKE radio!"

"Mmm…" A hand slowly reached out from a lump of white sheets and tapped the snooze button on the alarm radio clock. "All ready…?" A body slowly picked herself up, threw the white covers off their body and slowly emerged from the bed. "I was hoping for a little more sleep…damn that clock…" A 14-year old girl slowly trudged over to her drawer side mirror, and rubbed her blue eyes. Still half asleep the girl reached for her brush, and slowly started her daily tradition of de-tangling her short copper hair. "Lets see…" The girl yawned then continued to comb her hair. "Today…school…" Suddenly she stopped finally truly awake. "GRADUATION DAY!" The girl threw down her brush and ran into the bathroom and abruptly turned on the shower. Literally two minutes later she was fully dressed and humming her favorite song to herself as she left her dorm and walked to school.

"Ohhhh…advanced battle…." The girl sang bouncing along the sidewalk, getting odd looks from the passersby. _Today's the day, I can't believe it! I mean, all this work, all of this time, finally its here!_ The girl quickened her step. _I still remember when it all started too. It feels just like it happened…_

One year ago was the anniversary when they came. Yet, it feels like I've known them for all my life…

"Ok class…" A teacher stood in front of the class, lecturing them. "If you were stuck in the woods, with nothing but your history text book, what would you do for food?" Everybody knew the right answer to this question, yet everybody shook in his or her seats. The obvious answer would be to eat the book, but that was also the death of you if answered it that way. "Robert?" The teacher asked, as Robert almost flew out of his seat due to fright. "Uh…you see…um…" Robert stuttered.

"Attention all students and faculty." The principal's voice rang over the PA, as Robert collapsed in his seat from relief. "A foreign and unknown tribe of animals has surrounded the school..."

Sure, it sounded scary. But through that whole announcement, I couldn't help but feel some kind of connection to those animals. Like it was destiny.

"…We have called in the officials to see what they could do with this problem…however they have given no response." The principal sounded like he was ready to run away himself from the fright. "Please head to the lower levels of the school immediately as we lock the doors and windows and wait for help." Suddenly the fire alarm rang, signaling everybody to leave his or her classrooms.

Maybe it seemed stupid at that moment, but I just had to see what was going on for myself. I mean, how many times to wild animals surround the school? And on top of all that, that feeling I had…it was getting stronger…and then, I just lost control…

One girl suddenly broke from the pact, her school bag flailing behind her.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!" One girl with long black hair shouted after her.

"Where do you think?" The girl called as she ran down the stairs, almost colliding into the emergency exit door. "Well this is a emergency…" She said as she shoved the door, but to no avail. "What the hell! Open…open!" The girl said as she pushed the door very hard several times, to no avail. "Dammit!" The girl looked around frantically, looking for another exit. "There!" The girl saw a window, open just a jar. "Damn…it's so thin…" The girl said as she found a chair and used it to boost her to the proper height. The girl looked at the window, took a deep breath then struggled through, landing with a thump on the ground.

_Ok…so this next part was a mistake. But what would you have done?_

"Owww…my head…" The girl slowly recovered herself from her fall, managing to sit up and look around. "Ah!" The girl started to scream, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. Five jet-black dogs with fangs were surrounding her on one side. The girl looked around in terror, the dogs didn't seem to like her that much. "Um…nice doggy?" The girl said, trying to act like she wasn't scared but was doing a very bad job. "Uh….go fetch!" The girl threw a stick that was lying nearby, hitting one of the dogs on the head and making the whole pack madder. "Ehh…you didn't like that did you…" The pack slowly started to enclose on the girl, pushing her closer and closer to the wall. "You know…" the girl said hesitantly as she hit the wall and the dogs kept getting closer. "You really don't wanna eat me…I'm full of really bad stuffs like…um…candy and chocolate?" The girl laughed, but the dogs kept getting closer. "Urk…what can I do!" One of the dogs came so close the girl could feel its hot breath on her face.

"Hyper beam!" Suddenly a red-hot beam shot from out of nowhere, knocking the dogs away from the girl and at the same time hitting her hand.

"Ow…hey!" The girl finally picked herself up and looked around for the culprit. "Who did that!" The girl looked up and saw a man flying on what looked like a metal bird. "What the…"

"Not now, get on!" The man grabbed the girl by her good hand and pulled her onto the bird.

"Who are you?" The girl asked as she hung on to the guy's waist for dear life. The guy was wearing a really bad excuse for a tuxedo; it was black with purple vertical stripes and a red tie. His hair, which was all messed up and sticking in odd angles, was also purple.

"Not now…" The man sighed, as he pulled out a small ball from his belt.

"What's that?" The girl asked again.

"Yea, nice one. Listen I don't know who you are thinking you can let a group of wild Houndour get so close to you like that! And acting like you don't know…what the hell is wrong with you?" The man said, clearly ticked off.

"Yea, like I'm screwed." The girl sighed, her temper picking up. "You're the one flying on metal birds and fighting rabid beasts!"

"You seriously don't know what this is." The man said, holding the ball in front of the girl's face.

"And you seriously think I'm blind." The girl sighed. "Its one of those balls you get out of the quarter machine. What kind of adult walks around with those things? Aren't you a little old for child toys sonny?" The man sighed, as he grabbed one of the girl's hands and thrust the ball into it.

"Just throw the ball before you get us all killed." The man sighed as he went back to steering the bird. "And you don't need to hold so freaking tight."

"What the hell are you…" The girl was interrupted by a stream of fire that shot from one of the dogs below. "What the hell was that!" The girl panicked, tightening her grip on the man even more.

"LET GO!" The man screamed. "You're crushing me!"

"Well sorry! I'm just not used to having fire shoot past my head while flying on a metal bird with a psychopath."

"Just throw that ball!" The man shouted one last time, his temper on edge.

"Fine, but if we die its your fault." The girl took the sleek metal ball and chucked it, the ball exploding and producing a large hunk of metal that floated in midair. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" The girl shouted, half scared and half in awe.

"Metal Claw!" The man shouted, finally deciding that he should ignore the girl and her crazy comments. The hunk of metal's hand glowed, then started to slash furiously at the dogs below.

"Ok I seriously have to be dreaming…" The girl said, as the dogs were defeated and they ran off into the woods. The man guided the metal bird to the ground and helped the girl off.

"Good job, Skarmory, Metang." The man took out two balls (one of which the one the girl threw) and the creatures disappeared back from where they came in one flash of light. "So are you alright?" The man said, looking over the girl from head to toe.

"I guess…" The girl sighed, happy that the whole experience was over. "But that beam-thingy kinda burned my hand…" The girl pointed to her left hand, the backside of it was red and scratched up from the burn.

"No problem…I was more worried about what those Houndour would do to you." The man smiled.

"Yea…about that…" The girl took a big breath. "WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL OF THAT!" The girl's shout blew back the man several steps. "AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Oh…let me explain." The man smiled, outstretching his hand. "I'm known as Steven, and those…were Pokemon."

Well…I guess that's the end of the beginning. Steven went on to explain that Pokemon were mystical creatures that possessed special powers-like I didn't know that already-and would obey people who caught them in those ball like things (known as PokeBalls). He was kind of confused at my behavior, apparently where he's from kids wait their whole life just to turn 10 and get their Pokemon license. When I tried to explain that they never existed before that, well…he laughed. Hard. Which earned him a hard smack on the head from yours truly.

"Well I'm here!" The girl finally snapped out of the world of her memories and returned to reality, where a beautifully decorated campus was stretched out before her. There were four building arranged around a paved circle-shaped road, the center of the circle contained a water fountain containing statues of the three standard starter Pokemon: Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander. The buildings weren't that great, the brick-work was old and the buildings themselves needed work, but someone made good effort to make sure that they would look acceptable for this particular day. The athletic fields were to the outer edge of the first building, while the indoor gym was to the outer edge of the fourth. The girl happily walked onto the campus and sat down on one of the four benches surrounding the campus. "Sure looks nice…" The girl said to herself, as she looked around her. "Well today's the day after all, so it has to be perfect!" The girl pulled out a book from her light blue bag and started to read:

The Rules of Becoming a Pokemon Trainer:

_1. You must be of 10 years of age._

_2. You must have competed a series of six-month classes about Pokemon and their upbringing._

_3. You must have passed the Trainer Entrance Exam within your first two tries._

_3A. If you have failed more than two times, then you must wait a period of twelve months in order to retake the exam._

_Once you become a trainer, you are able to pick up your starter from…_

"Yadda, yadda, yadda…" The girl flipped through a few pages until she found what she was looking for:

If you have attended an authorized Trainer's school or academy for a minimum of one year you are automatically allowed to become a licensed trainer without passing any of the tests. You are also allowed to pick any of the Pokemon on the following list for your starter:

Bulbasaur

Charmander

Squirtle

Pidgey

Pikachu  
Sandshrew

Ekans…

"How many pages are there?" The girl said angrily as she flipped through the various pages of approved starter Pokemon. "Ah-ha!"

Torchic

Mudkip

Treecko

Tailow

**Zigzagoon**

Spinda…

The girl took out a yellow highlighter and made the already standout Zigzagoon standout even more. "There!" The girl said happily as she skimmed through the rest of the pages, not really caring what was written.

"Hey, I see you've picked out your starter." The girl jumped, turning around to see Steven smiling behind her.

"Oh, hey Steven!" The girl said happily.

"Mind if I join you?" Steven asked as he took a seat next to the girl. "So I've seen you've improved a lot since we've first met." The girl's face turned pink.

"Could you please stop talking about that?" The girl snapped. "I told you a million times, Pokemon didn't exist until then!" Steven laughed.

"Sure they didn't…" Steven said, half believing the girl. "And I flew out of nowhere due to magic, right?" The girl turned pink again.

"Well…" The girl hesitated, her face a little pinker. "I'm sure you couldn't have thought of a better excuse…" Steven laughed.

"I'm just kidding. So are you ready? Today's the day, huh." Steven looked up into the sky. "Feels like just yesterday we just met…"

"As far as I'm concerned it probably was yesterday." The girl smiled. "I've just been waiting for so long its hard to believe today's here, you know?" The girl started to space off a little bit. "I almost don't want it to come, you know. I'm going to miss this place…" The girl looked around the campus, smiling at all of the good memories it held.

"You'll come back." Steven assured. "You'll be great, I know it. I could just tell when we first met."

"Really?" The girl said, looking at Steven hopefully. "Wait, you aren't just saying that, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Steven said, a little shocked at the girl's comment. "Why would I do that?"

"Oh I dunno…" The girl looked at Steven suspiciously. "Because there was that one time…"

"Well, uh…" Steven quickly got up. "I have to go get ready, good luck!" Steven ran away towards the building where all of the boarding teachers lived. The girl sighed, and went back to reading.

It was around mid afternoon, and thirty students were fidgeting in their seats. Outside there was a nice breeze, but nobody cared. The principal of the school was making one of her usual dull speeches, where she could some how magically travel from one topic to another. Today it was from graduation, to keys, and then to why there's "cho" in "chocolate."

"So that's why, my esteemed colleagues, chocolate is such a fine food in society today…which reminds me…"

"NO!" Various students yelled, then clamping their mouths shut.

"What?" The principal said, really confused. "But I thought you loved my speeches?" The principal then started to give a speech about why they should love her speeches.

Wow…just when I thought it couldn't get any more boring…Our heroine thought, slightly slouching in her chair from boredom. The girl looked over at the special Pokeballs that contained their soon-to-be Pokemon. They were maroon on the top instead of red, while they were white on the bottom. On the center of the Pokeball the owner's initials were engraved in gold, which made finding your starter Pokemon really easy. The girl's Pokeball was the last one in the back, engraved with C.T. Zigzagoon…The girl thought, smiling. We're so close! I promise, we'll be together soon-… "Hm?" The girl looked up, almost dieing on the spot from laughter.

"Its…my…mike!" The principal said as she was half standing on the podium and tugging at the microphone.

"Please…Ma'am…" Steven was half standing on the other side of the podium, also tugging on the microphone. "I think the students have heard enough…"

"NO!" The principal screamed, sending Steven flying backwards. "ITS MY MIKE!"

"I'm sorry to have to do this Ma'am…" Steven said, recovering from his fall. Steven pulled out a pokeball from his belt and threw it into the air, the ball exploding with light. "Cradily, use sleep powder!" Steven shouted, as Cradily started to spray a light blue glimmering powder in the principals' direction.

"So…sleepy…" The principal said as she fell over backwards, snoring.

"Well…" Steven scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I guess its time for the actually ceremony, right? I just hope you all don't get too mad that your principal will be out for a few…" Steven was interrupted as the students cheered.

After moving the principal off of the main stage, Steven had one of the teachers hold the tray where the pokeballs lie. Steven picked up a scroll, opened it and started to read the names:

"Arison, Alexandra." A brown haired girl with brown eyes got up and walked towards Steven, shook his hand and took the pokeball as her family and friends cheered.

"Bryant, Lauren." This time a girl with short brown hair and blonde highlights got up and gladly accepted the pokeball from him, her mother screaming like mad in the background.

"Dilland, Wilbert." A round boy with short black hair and glasses and shook hands with Steven, almost forgot to take the pokeball, then walked back to his seat with his face bright pink.

"Emerson, Katrina…" The list went on and on. By the letter 'm' the girl was fidgeting slightly in her seat, by 'o' she was almost ready to jump out of her seat, and by 's' she was about to have a heart attack.

"Villiant, Jared." Jared shyly snuck out of his seat, but his parents bombarded him with camera's anyways.

"Takashi, Chaki." Chaki sprung out of her seat, her limbs slightly stiff. She was so excited; it almost looked like she was nervous. As Chaki shook Steven's hand Steven smiled, and whispered, "Don't look so nervous, it's just a PokeBall…really…." Chaki just took the pokeball and happily turned around, which was when it hit her. No body was clapping; they just sat there and stared. Chaki felt her face turn a bright, vibrant pink. That moron! Chaki thought as she took her seat, embarrassed. I can't believe he did that! I swear…when I get my hands on him…Chaki sighed and looked down at her pokeball. It was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined, sparkling and shining in the fading sunlight.

"Hinote, Hakan." Chaki glared when Hakan stood up. She hated everything about him: his dark brown eyes, his spiky red hair, the way he walked, everything. He didn't exactly like her either. As he walked by, he smirked, making her want to kill him even more at that point. I swear! He'll pay…Chaki thought as the crowd cheered for him; after all he was he last person on the list. Chaki didn't really understand it either; since clearly 'h' is before 't'… yet again his father did own the school, so she figured that he got to do whatever he wanted.

"And that about wraps it up!" Steven smiled happily. "I wish you all the best of luck on your journeys. Remember, the buses leave tomorrow at seven, so be here bright and early!" Steven stepped down from the stage and started to walk towards the buffet the school was hosting. As he walked by Chaki he slipped her a piece of paper. Chaki looked confused, but opened it and read aloud to herself:

Wait here afterwards. I have a surprise for you.

Chaki looked around confused, but Steven just winked, making her blush a little. Well…its not like I have anything better to do…Chaki sighed, since her parents couldn't come to the ceremony, or anything else for that matter, she was stuck in this alone and might as well wait.

"So, you have a date I see." Chaki spun around, blushing furiously.

"Its not a date!" Chaki spat, "And besides, what would a moron like you care!" Chaki glared at Hakan, who just smiled with that crazy smirk of his.

"Sure is isn't…" He snickered. "And Steven wasn't just hitting on you now, right?" Hakan and his group laughed, making Chaki even madder.

"Leave me alone you bastard!" Chaki shouted, completely furious.

"Oh look, she's a feisty one, isn't she?" Hakan laughed even harder.

"Go to hell." Chaki turned around and started to walk around, when she felt Hakan put his hand on her shoulder and pull her back.

"Listen…" Hakan whispered. "I know about your parents, and unless you want me to…"

"Master Hakan!" Chaki sighed a sigh of relief, as the Hinote made ran up to Hakan. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but right now she was just too relieved. "Your father calls."

"Hmpt. Well, this will just have to wait for later." Hakan pushed Chaki away, and then walked off towards the marble white limo waiting for him. "Smell ya later!" He shouted.

Chaki walked back over to her chair and sat down, feeling kind of depressed. How does he know? She asked herself over and over again, a look of concern on her face. The only people who know about that are…

"Hey, cheer up!" Chaki jumped, as she turned around and saw Steven waiting for her. "I've got a surprise for you." Chaki smiled, relieved. "Come on!" Steven started to walk towards the center of the field. Chaki followed, happy to think of a better topic.

"So…" Chaki asked as Steven let Skarmory out. "Where are we going?"

"Just to meet some friends." Steven said, as they were off, soaring towards their next destination.

Yes…I know. Hakan uses Gary's catch phrase. And Chaki has a date. Sort of. Meh…. It'll make sense in the next chapter, I promise. But right now I'm just happy to have it finished

Questions? Comments? Flames? Fan mail? Money (heh!)? Feel free to comment!


	2. A Night to Remember!

**Name:** Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can) _NOTE! This is NOT a songfic._

**Rating: **T for violence, swearing, and various things young minds should not be exposed to…yet.

**Genre:** Humor/Romance/Action/Whatever.

**Plot Summary:** Chaki Takashi is just your normal teenager…who loves Pokemon! (But who doesn't?) Her life is turned upside down when she meets up with Ash Ketchum (Satoshi), May (Haruka), Max (Masato), and Brock (Takashi), along with some new friends! Will they survive the journey to becoming a Pokemon master, or will their dreams disappear in a puff of smoke?

Hello and welcome to the next chapter! Thanks to everybody who commented! (You'll get replies at the end of the chapter )

* * *

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Not yet."

"How about now?"

"Nope."

"Now?"

"Sorry."

Chaki mumbled something under her breath, upset that she couldn't see a thing. When Steven and her left, he gave her a blindfold so she couldn't see where they were going. Chaki didn't say anything at first, but the blindfold was slowing getting on her nerves.

_Thump._

_Looks like we've landed…_ Chaki thought to herself as she tried to get off of the Skarmory. She was grateful when her foot touched solid ground.

"Ok, you can take it off." Steven said as he guided her off of the large metal bird. Chaki reached behind her head and untied the blindfold and removed it from her blue eyes. She had to blind a couple of times to adjust to the light.

"SURPRISE!" Chaki almost stumbled backwards in amazement. She obviously knew about Steven being the champion of the Elite Four, however she never expected to see the entire Elite Four in front of her, holding a huge banner that said _"Congratulations on graduating!" _signed by all of them.

"What the…?" Chaki said, confused. "What's going on?"

"When we heard about what happened and how you'd be spending tonight alone, we thought that you could come celebrate with us!" A girl stepped forwards from the group, smiling. Chaki thought that she looked like she had just arrived from Hawaii, even though none of them knew what it was: she had flowers everywhere, on her skirt, on her ankles, and in her hair, along with a bikini top. Chaki instantly recognized her as Phoebe, the second member of the Elite Four.

"And besides, it's better than spending the night alone." Another girl said bluntly. She had short, curly blonde hair and was dressed as if she was from the 1930's.

"Sheesh…you're in a great mood today aren't you Glacia." A boy with red hair stated, he also looked a little dated but not as much as Grace did, especially since he had a red Mohawk sticking right out of his head. Chaki recognized him as Sidney, the first member of the Elite Four.

"Yea, yea, whatever." Glacia stated bluntly. "As long as I get back in time to watch Desperate Housewives I don't care." Glacia made a fake coughing sound as if to end the conversation.

"Wait…" Chaki said, looking over the group. "Isn't there someone missing? Yea…" Chaki counted silently to herself. "Four. Isn't there supposed to be five?"

"Um…" Phoebe started to say, sounding a little embarrassed. "You see…"

"Drake's out sailing. On his boat." Glacia butted in, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Apparently he thought he was too good for us or something."

"Glacia!" Phoebe said sternly. "You know it's not that! After all Steven told us just last night, really!"

"Sure, whatever you say…" Glacia rolled her eyes.

"You know," Sidney said slyly. "The only reason you're like this is because…"

"Shut up!" Glacia shouted, slamming her hand over his mouth and muffling out the rest of the sentence. Sidney managed to break free of her grasp, and started to try and finish his sentence, but as soon as he broke free she would just grab him yet again.

"Um…" Chaki felt a little lost in midst of all of the chaos. The fighting had gone on for several minutes now and didn't really feel like watching it continue for much longer. "Maybe we should go get something to eat?"

* * *

"Mmmm…!" Phoebe said as they all emerged from the burger stand where they had eaten. Phoebe stretched her arms and yawned, a sign that she was probably full. "That was great!"

"So…what now?" Chaki asked. She had eaten a bacon burger and had split some fries with Steven. It's not like it bothered her or anything, but for some reason it had sent Phoebe in to a fit of giggles from time to time.

"Well…" Phoebe began to say, as she stopped Chaki right in her tracks and started to stare hard at her.

"Uh…" Chaki said, as she slowly started to inch away.

"Phoebe! What are you doing!" Steven shouted, stepping in front of Chaki and matching Phoebe's stare with one of his own.

"Jeez Steven you don't have to act so personal about it!" Phoebe put her hands on her hips. "I was just trying to think of something else she could wear!"

"Something else I could wear…?" Chaki asked, a little confused.

"Well…" Phoebe said slowly, looking Chaki over one more time. "…it looks like you've lived in school all of your life."

"So!" Steven butted in again. "I think she look great in it!" Chaki was speechless. She had never seen someone stand up for her like that, and she kind of liked it. In a weird way.

"Oh-ho," Grace said slyly. "Is Steven falling for yet _another _girl?"

"What!" Steven started to blush, speechless.

"Yup. It seems like our Steven is always falling for _somebody_," Grace continued. "I can remember just last year he…"

"Stop it would'ja?" Steven shouted, his face bright red now.

"Is there something I'm missing here…?" Chaki asked, confused for the second time that night.

"No, no." Phoebe put her arm around Chaki's shoulder and slowly pulled her away from where Grace and Steven were bickering. "They always do this. I think it's because they have a thing for each other, but neither will admit it." When she heard Phoebe say this, Chaki couldn't help but feel a little depressed, however she didn't know why. "Anyways, I really think you should get some new clothes, no offence but those wouldn't last a day out there." Phoebe smiled. "Come on. I know the perfect place." Phoebe started to run off to a large shopping complex, dragging Chaki along with her.

* * *

"Ok, I'm ready." Chaki called from inside the changing stall. For the past hour they had run throughout the complex, Phoebe making Chaki try on all sorts of shirts, pants, and shoes. Chaki was starting to get bored with all of this shopping; however Phoebe kept insisting that Chaki give it "one more try." It had been ten "one more tries" since then.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Phoebe said from outside. "Show us!" Chaki took a deep breath and stepped outside. Steven gasped. Glacia rolled her eyes. Sidney nodded in approval. And Phoebe started in another fit of giggles.

"It's perfect!" Phoebe said happily.

"You think so?" Chaki asked. She wasn't really sure about it personally, I mean she liked the appearance of it, but for some reason it didn't really fit.

"Of course!" Steven smiled. "Well, if you think that it does."

"Yea," Chaki smiled back at Steven, "I do."

"Come on!" Phoebe grabbed Chaki's arm and tugged her towards the viewing mirrors. "Take a look!"

Chaki took a big breath and opened her eyes. She was wearing a light blue shirt, a light blue skort, and a pair of matching sneakers. The shirt was somewhat tight, but not too tight, the neck was reasonable and the sleeves were short, but not too short. Her skort was cleverly designed to look like a real skirt; however it "was guaranteed to prevent any unwanted traveler's eyes." Finally, the sneakers were light blue as well, and (like the skirt) were also guaranteed to last the "everlasting toil of traveling."

"Wow…" Chaki said under her breath, stunned. "This looks…great!"

"You like it?" Phoebe asked, happy to hear that Chaki was pleased.

"Definitely!" Chaki smiled, giving Phoebe the thumbs up sign.

"Well…I hate to ruin this party…" Sidney began to say.

"You _always_ ruin the party." Glacia said slyly as Sidney glared back.

"It's getting late." Sidney peered at his watch. "To be precise it's almost ten."

"Oh, it's almost ten…" Phoebe said mockingly. "Is the widdle baby getting tired?"

"Considering we have that huge batch of trainers coming through tomorrow…" Sidney began to say, as Phoebe's face slowly started to reveal her stupidity.

"Heheh…" Phoebe laughed nervously. "Well….we better get going. I completely forgot!"

"No duh." Glacia said as she headed out of the room and towards the door.

"Wait!" Chaki felt a jolt of panic hit her heart. _I can't pay for all of this! _Chaki thought nervously as she totaled up the sum of her new outfit in her mind. "Who's going to pay for this…I mean…" Chaki stopped halfway through her thought, suddenly feeling like a brat. _Crap._ She thought, her face turning pink.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Steven walked up to her and put his arm around her. "We get a discount around here. I guess it's because we're treated like royalty." Steven sighed as he heard a swarm of giggles coming from a hiding group of fan-girls.

"You sure? I mean…I feel guilty making you buy all this for me." Chaki still sounded a little worried. "Especially since I won't be able to pay you back for awhile, maybe not until I get a job."

"I'm sure you'll be able to pay us back." Steven smiled. "All we want in return is a good battle, right guys?"

"You got that right." Phoebe said.

"All we get now are trainers that don't know the difference between a Crawdaunt and a crocodile…or that's what I think they're called..." Glacia sighed.

"Are you sure?" Chaki asked, still feeling a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Positive." Steven said. By now they were outside in the square, the same place where they had arrived a couple hours before. "Well, its best we get going." Steven threw his pokeball in the air and Skarmory happily popped out and tucked its head under Chaki's arm, wanting to be pet.

"Well," Chaki began to say slowly, not wanting the night to end. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't say that!" Phoebe smiled, winking at Chaki. "I'm sure we'll meet again very soon."

"Ok." Chaki bowed politely to Glacia, Sidney and Phoebe before she got on Skarmory with Steven. "See you!" Chaki shouted as the couple took of into the midnight sky.

* * *

_Darkness. An endless hallway. A twisted shout in the darkness. Are you here? I wonder as I walk around. I feel your pain, the pain of a loss to be felt throughout the ages. I open doors. Are you here? I ask. All I hear is the echo in the darkness._

"_I…will always…"_

_The echo from a far off memory scorches through my mind. Where are you? I ask, but only to be answered by darkness again._

"…_love…"_

_Love…I think. Such a hallow word._

"…_you…"_

_Pain. The pain of a thousand flames tears through my heart, my mind, my soul. Where are you? I ask one more time, as I fade away, while the darkness laughs at my limitations._

Chaki awoke with a start. She gasped for air, sweat dripping down her brow. She looked at the clock.

_1:44_

"Not again…" Chaki sighed to herself as she slowly lifted herself off the bed and towards the bathroom. She clicked on the lights and began to wash her face with water.

"…_love…"_

Chaki gasped yet again, the pain ripping through her heart. She put her hands on the sink, trying to use to it as a support to keep her from falling; gasping for air. Chaki slowly stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

_Why is this happening?_

Chaki thought as she heated up a cup of tea in the microwave. She prepared it her special way, the way her mom had taught her what felt like eons ago.

"_We'll always be here…"_

Chaki gasped again, but this time able to deal with the pain. _Why must I suffer?_ Chaki thought. She slowly felt herself fading this time, but only to another world: the world of the haunting memory.

_I was only four at the time. My parents and I lived in the middle of the woods. I remember it perfectly…I would attend school, then my dad would come and pick me up and we'd go home to a nice dinner with my mom. Then, in the everlasting twilight, we'd play. Anything. As long as I was with them…I felt, nothing would go wrong. I didn't know how much I was wrong…_

_That day was normal. Everything was perfect until I was playing outside one day._

"_Remember Chaki…" My dad had said to me just before, "I will always love you. And we'll always be here supporting you, no matter what." I just smiled, happy for the affection. Suddenly a black car, black as the darkness itself, drove up into the driveway._

"_Hide." My dad had said. I didn't know why, but I had always hidden when this car drove up. I thought it was a game of hide-and-seek, and after the man failed to find me we'd go and have ice cream inside. There was no ice cream today._

"_Where is it?" The man demanded. I never saw his face, just heard his demonic voice._

"_I don't know." My dad replied coolly._

"_Tell me!"_

"_No."_

"_Well…then I guess I'll just have to find it myself!" The man stormed inside our house. I waited, not sure of the result. An explosion. A laugh. The shouts of the two I loved most being devoured by flame._

"_Well…that was easy enough." The man emerged from the flame, unharmed. He had a demon dog at his side. "The orb is mine!" The man laughed as he pulled out of the driveway laughing. I wanted to run, to chase him. But I couldn't. I was paralyzed by fear. By the time I could move…it was too late._

Chaki woke several hours later, sprawled out on the ground. The microwave was beeping to signal that the tea was ready, but by now it had already cooled. Chaki just sighed, got in her bed and went back to sleep.

* * *

Done! Sorry it took so long. School, you know, the usual. Now to respond to my precious comments:

MonnieMe – Yea, if you haven't figured it out yet, this story is written in third person, meaning that I can read Chaki's thoughts (Chaki: NO YOU CAN'T!), so she was just retelling the story to herself, but we could hear her anyways. That will turn up again in this chapter, just a heads up.

Alphamech – Glad you like it!

ItWASn'tMe – Also glad you like it! You should know what happened to Chaki's parents by now…but just in case you missed it I'll say it again: they passed away in a large fire having to do with a mysterious fire type trainer when Chaki was a little girl, after said trainer asked for some mysterious artifact. What that is, you'll find out later

HannaH - Yea…the principal is our principal…well you have to admit she does talk…a lot… Glad you liked it, and I'll explain this chapter too if you need it

Anyways, as usual I'm open to suggestions, comments, flames, rants, etc. So come and comment today!

**Preview:** Next time on Makin' My Way! Chaki's finally off on her adventure, but what's on Steven's mind that's so urgent that he visits Chaki…at six am? And who's this Pikachu kid, and why is his Pikachu overcharged? Find out next!

**Help?** Yea, I was wondering if any artists out there would be willing to draw a group picture I can use to promote this story. I'd prefer if you're used to drawing with the Pokemon style, and had something you could show me. Email me if you're interested! (I'll write a one-shot about whatever to the person who agrees to do this for me.)


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